Corban hosts first science symposium

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

In science, research can’t get the attention it may deserve without being presented to a panel of colleagues and researchers.

On April 11, six Corban University students gained valuable experience as they presented their research projects during Corban’s first Science Symposium. The symposium was held in the Emitte Center and featured a mix of poster and oral presentations given to approximately 100 fellow students and science faculty.

Corban sophomore Salina Cadena is a Health Science major who presented her research studying the estrous cycle in mice using histological techniques.

“My dream is to go into med school and this was such a great opportunity for me,” she said. “It was definitely a new experience and I appreciate that the science department faculty are seeing the students’ needs and making it possible for them to meet those needs.”

Throughout the 5-hour event, Corban science students came through the symposium and asked the researchers about techniques they used, the results and the relevance of those results. Four students spoke about their projects and used PowerPoint to highlight relevant information. Each project was judged by science faculty and several pre-selected senior science majors.

The Science Symposium was initiated by Assistant Professor of Science Sarah Comstock, Ph.D., who has presented her own research many times.

“The students really took ownership these projects,” she said. The students had to choose an advising professor and meet deadlines.

“The only reason we really know what we do now is because of research,” Comstock said. “It gives the students the understanding to know how foundational research is to the way science is done.”

She said most of the students who participated intend to go into the healthcare field and that learning how to present research is critical to their success.

Following the Science Symposium, judges named Nathaniel Edwards as the winner of the oral presentations. Emma Felzien earned the first place prize for her poster presentation. The first place prizes were provided by Corban’s Health Science Club.